Cubs Pitcher Already Dealing With Injury in Spring Training Camp

The Chicago Cubs used the offseason to bolster their starting rotation depth. In December, they signed free agent left-hander Matthew Boyd and acquired right-hander Cody Poteet in the trade that sent Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees.

In January, the Cubs signed free agent right-hander Brad Keller to a minor league contract and gave a major-league deal to former Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Colin Rea.

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Camp just started Monday and already that depth looks like it might be needed. According to multiple reports Monday out of Arizona, manager Craig Counsell told reporters right-hander Javier Assad is getting an MRI on a strained oblique that kept him from participating in spring training activies.

Assad, a 26-year-old right-hander, was one of the team’s bright spots last year. In his first full season as a member of Chicago’s starting rotation, he went 7-6 with a 3.73 ERA in 29 starts.

A native of Tijuana, Assad was never a heralded prospect coming up through the Cubs’ minor league system, and mostly relieved in 2022-23 during his first big league cups of coffee.

The 2024 season saw Assad emerge as a reliable starting pitcher. He made a career-high 29 starts and pitched a career-high 147 innings, compiling a 3.73 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Assad struck out 124 batters and walked 63.

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Injuries this early in camp are always discouraging, but offer a longer timeline for recovery for pitchers and position players to recover before the start of the regular season. The Cubs will open their 2025 season in Tokyo with a two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers March 18-19.

Assad wasn’t necessarily likely to start in either game of the Tokyo series. News that he’s dealing with an oblique injury — which are historically difficult to anticipate a timeline for return — only adds to the likelihood that he’ll begin the regular season on the injured list, with the potential for activation once the Cubs begin their domestic schedule.

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Shota Imanaga, a native of Japan, is penciled in for one of the two starts. Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Boyd, and Rea would appear to be the top candidates to start the other game.

Assad is 14-11 with a 3.40 ERA in 70 major league games (47 starts). If his MRI signals a a longer-term injury, it’s possible the Cubs will bolster their pitching depth via the free agent market, which still includes a number of veterans: Kyle Gibson, Andrew Heaney, Lance Lynn, Jose Quintana, Spencer Turnbull, and others.

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